Section 3: Overview

Rising Action and Climax

We will study the rising action of the novel presented through a series of dramatic scenes and vignettes in Chapters 5–7. We will examine how Fitzgerald—through Nick’s narration—develops conflicts, tension, suspense, and thematic threads in these chapters, leading to the novel’s climactic events at the end of Chapter 7.

• Lesson 1:

  We will closely reread key scenes from Chapter 5 and analyze the events, character relationships, use of literary devices, narrative point of view, and potential meaning in those scenes.

• Lesson 2:

  We will reread and analyze the flashback vignette about Gatsby that begins Chapter 6, then prepare to do a full analysis of other key scenes from Chapters 6–7 in the next lessons.

• Lesson 3:

  We will work in reading teams to do deep analyses of key scenes from Chapters 5–7.

• Lesson 4:

  We will form home groups and participate in a jigsaw discussion to compare what we have learned about key scenes in Chapters 5–7.

• Lesson 5:

  We will discuss the climactic scenes of the novel, considering what they suggest about the characters, their fates, and the meaning of the story. We will then begin a writing workshop session in which we will start outlining our Section 3 Diagnostic and forming our claims.

• Lesson 6:

  We will write multiparagraph responses that analyze key scenes from the novel and then discuss their presentation, development, meaning, and significance. The responses should be organized by a thesis about the significance of the scene chosen and developed through a series of evidence-based claims that present and explain an analysis of the scene.

• Lesson 7:

  We will review feedback on the Section Diagnostic. We will use the feedback to make revisions to our work.

• Lesson 8:

  We will share the understanding we have gained through our independent reading and continue to read our texts.